“You
know there is something wrong with the kind of job he has done as president
when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.” — Mitt Romney
“Barack
Obama’s failed us. But look, it’s understandable. A lot of people fail at their
first job.” — Tim Pawlenty
“If Mitt was Santa Claus, he would fire
the reindeer and outsource the elves.”—Ted Strickland
“I
have seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are. No, it reveals who you are."—Michelle Obama
“It’s like Hitler said, if
you’re going to tell a lie, tell a big lie, and if you tell it often enough and say it in a
loud enough voice, some people are going to believe you,” --PatLehman (D) on Paul Ryan
Are
you better off today than you were four years ago?
Stephanie Cutter answered the
question “Absolutely.”Of course her track record shows she doesn’t
have much knowledge of the truth.Investor Business Daily finds by most
measures the country isn't making slow
progress; it's falling further behind.
It
is official:The Stadium is cancelled
The Democrats
have moved Obama’s acceptance speech from the Bank of America Stadium to the
Convention Center.Official reason is
that rain is possible.Unofficial reason
–too many seats to fill.
Band Of America Stadium
I’ll bet Joe Biden is wondering how he
could get his debate with Paul Ryan called off.Damn, it’s indoors.
Barack
the Humble
Those were not the only times Mr.
Obama may have overestimated himself: he
has also had a habit of warning new hires that he would be able to do their
jobs better than they could.
“I think that I’m a better speechwriter than my
speechwriters,” Mr. Obama told Patrick Gaspard, his
political director, at the start of the 2008 campaign, according to The New
Yorker. “I know more about policies on
any particular issue than my policy directors. And I’ll tell you right now
that I’m going to think I’m a better
political director than my political director.”I believe it is called narcissism.
I think he will be in for a very bad
time when he loses in November.
And if you saw Michelle Obama’s
speech, you can see it runs in the family.
Krauthammer on Michelle Obama’s
speech
And speaking of Michelle Obama’s speech last night, Charles Krauthammer found it
not convincing.He said: “I didn’t buy a line of it…..If I hear one
more story of people walking eight miles in the snow, without shoes walking
uphill both ways, I’m going start
longing for Clint Eastwood spontaneity out here.”
Michelle
begging for dollars
Here
is an excerpt from a fund raising appeal that went out after Michelle Obama’s
speech.
A woman recently
told the campaign her family skipped a
pizza dinner at their favorite place so that they could make a difference in
this election.
That is the commitment that drives this campaign.
If you can support Barack with a donation today, please know it makes a huge
difference. If we win, it will be
because of what you did at moments like this....
Thanks,
Michelle
CNN
Money:August looks to be weak jobwise
It
unlikely it will keep up with July’s
job growth.
What
would a second Obama term be like?
Want to know what Barack Obama’s second-term agenda will be? Looking at the VIP
admissions to the Democratic convention, the assumption will be more Solyndras
and more wasted taxpayer dollars. ABC News caught former Department of Energy official Steve Spinner getting a
“red-carpet” tour yesterday of the facilities in Charlotte. Who is
Steve Spinner? He’s the man who pushed the DoE to ignore the advice of
auditors and approve Solyndra’s $500
million-plus taxpayer-guaranteed loan. It appears failure in the Obama Administration
is not punished, but rewarded.
How
do you know if a scandal involves a Democrat?
It’s pretty easy.If the politician
is a Republican you’ll find it in the headline or the first paragraph.If the politician is a Democrat you have to
work to find out.In this story you’ll find it in the fifth
paragraph.
Richard
Cohen calls Clinton the Anti-Obama
Cohen describes Bill Clinton of giving
so much of himself while Barack Obama
gives so little.
“The
president who will lay out his reasons for seeking a second term is an odd political duck, a politician who does not appear to like
people. Among the people he seems to
like the least are his fellow politicians, including members of the Senate with
whom he once served. The other day I talked
with one of them — a Democrat — who rarely hears from Obama. This senator has zero respect for the
president’s political abilities. The commander in chief is not — pardon the
cloying term — a people person.”
The
Democratic Platform endorses not only a woman’s right to an abortion, but
endorses this right regardless of their
ability to pay.Now one more time,
do they really want to call Republicans extremists?
They
also did away with God from their platform and took back their recognition of
Jerusalem being the capital of Israel.
Why
does the left hate the right?
That appears to be the one truth we can get from the accusations by the left on
Romney, Ryan and anyone else who disagrees with them.“Thus, they must unleash the dogs of demagoguery,bigotry, and hatred. Many of their mind-numbed followers,
such as those in the entertainment community, willingly, and with no
forethought, regurgitate these
accusations in order to be part of the supposed in-crowd.”
Fact
checkers or just more biased Media?
“A case in point: a perfectly correct
statement by Sen. Rand Paul that the
average federal employee makes
$120,000 a year, while the average private-sector employee makes $60,000.
This was labeled "FALSE," by PolitiFact because the figures included benefits. On
salary alone, the folks on the federal payroll only made $31,000 more than
their counterparts.”It appears the fact
checkers at PolitiFact don’t understand that benefits are part of a salary
package and actually do cost money.
Our # 1story asks if regulations are hurting us. According to a Small Business survey and a number of executives in large businesses, it is.#2 gives us anecdotes of how government is hurting us create jobs.#3 lays out the latest scandal where the government appears to want a license to lie.#4 is a follow up story to yesterday’s regarding Michelle Obama.Article #5 discusses this administrations investments, or at least what they want to call investments.#6 is a frightening one regarding OWS and how confused they are.#7 talks about the law of unintended consequences and follows up with #8 demonstrating how a second energy company failure certainly illustrates that.#9 shows us how the political parties are breaking down and asks your opinion on that.#10 demonstrates a big problem in the schools.We pay teachers rather than paying teachers by their specialty.
1.Are Regulations hurting us?
The roots of today’s economic troubles are hinted at in a new Gallup Poll of small business owners, which finds compliance with government regulations tops their “problem list.”
Bigger businesses say the same. No one’s forgotten that Vegas resorts mogul Steve Wynn called Washington “the greatest wet blanket to business, and progress and job creation in my lifetime”; or that Bernie Marcus claims he could not have built Home Depot in the regulatory environment of today.
Nevada has the highest unemployment rate in the country and is one of the worst in foreclosures. “In my district,” Nevada Assemblyman Hansen reports, “one in seventeen houses is in foreclosure. One in eight is vacant. The people are economically desperate. MEANWHILE WE HAVE AN INDUSTRY THAT WOULD LOVE TO OPEN UP MINES AND CREATE JOBS WITH AN AVERAGE SALARY OF $80,000. UNFORTUNATELY WE ALSO HAVE A GOVERNMENT THAT TAKES TEN YEARS TO PERMIT A MINE.”
No wonder 77% of Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction.
“Couldn’t we streamline the process or eliminate some steps?” asks Nevada State Senator Settelmeyer. He points out that the high gold and silver prices present a huge opportunity but he’s afraid that if we do not strike while the iron is hot, gold prices may fall before the mining projects get approved and get into production. “We have the resources and people need the jobs…..”
….In Montana’s Finley Basin there are known tungsten deposits. An Australian company wanted to bring revenue and jobs to the state by developing the resource. While THE PROPERTY WAS SUCCESSFULLY DRILLED AND RECOGNIZED BY UNION CARBIDE IN THE SEVENTIES, IT IS NOW ABOUT 200 YARDS INSIDE A ROADLESS STUDY AREA. The Forest Service was willing to offer a conditional drilling. AMONG THE CONDITIONS WERE THESE REQUIREMENTS:
·The drill sites must be cleared using hand tools,
·The drilling equipment and fuel must be transported to the site by a team of pack mules,
·THE MULES MUST BE FED CERTIFIED WEED-FREE HAY, and
·Drill site and trail reclamation must be done using hand tools.
I’m sure these “conditions” are a great comfort to those who are out of work.
3.On FOIA, Obama wants a license to lie
IT'S NOT OFTEN THAT THE LIBERAL AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION AND CONSERVATIVE JUDICIAL WATCH AGREE ON ANYTHING, BUT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S LACK OF TRANSPARENCY HAS BROUGHT THE TWO TOGETHER. Obama's Justice Department has proposed a regulatory change that would weaken the Freedom of Information Act. Under the new rules, the government could falsely respond to those who file FOIA requests that a document does not exist if it pertains to an ongoing criminal investigation, concerns a terrorist organization, or a counterintelligence operation involving a foreign nation.
There are two problems with the Obama proposal to allow federal officials to affirmatively assert that a requested document doesn't exist when it does. First, by not citing a specific exemption allowed under the FOIA as grounds for denying a request, THE PROPOSAL WOULD CUT OFF A REQUESTOR FROM APPEALING TO THE COURTS. By thus creating an area of federal activity that is completely exempt from judicial review, the proposal undercuts due process and other constitutional protections. Second, by creating a justification for government lying to FOIA requestors in one area, A LEGAL PRECEDENT IS CREATED THAT SOONER OR LATER WILL BE ASSERTED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN OTHER AREAS AS WELL.
Under FOIA's current national security exemption, bureaucrats can already deny access to documents without acknowledging their existence. This was noted by the ACLU (joined by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and OpentheGovernment.com) in a comment on the proposal. In instances where there is a legitimate grounds for not confirming a document's existence, "THE AGENCY SHOULD SIMPLY RESPOND THAT 'WE INTERPRET ALL OR PART OF YOUR REQUEST AS A REQUEST FOR RECORDS WHICH, IF THEY EXIST, WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS OF FOIA PURSUANT TO SECTION 552(C), AND WE THEREFORE WILL NOT PROCESS THAT PORTION OF YOUR REQUEST.' This response requires no change to the current FOIA regulation." Such a response would preserve a requestor's right to appeal to a federal court….
Perhaps there is common ground between the right and the left.At least we both seem to be suspicious of a government move to make lying okay.
4.Michelle Obama:Attack Dog
MICHELLE’S BACK, AND SHE’S MADDER THAN EVER. She was already pretty angry, seemingly unhappy with just about everything. As her husband wrapped up the Democratic nomination in 2008, she let fly her real feelings: “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country.” A few months into her job as first lady, her French counterpart asked how she liked the gig: “Don’t ask!” she reportedly spat. “It’s hell. I can’t stand it!”
She even seems to be mad at her silver-tongued husband. When the two were to set off on a luxurious 10-day vacation to Martha’s Vineyard, she left early - four hours early - and flew up alone. And those private vacations. She’s traveled to some of the world’s most plush resorts, taking 42 days off in the past year - that’d be eight weeks of vacay time if she held down a normal job.
NOW, SHE IS READY TO SPEW HER BILIOUS DISGUST WITH AMERICA ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. A dignified, transcendent first lady? No chance. MICHELLE IS GOING TO BREAK WITH A HUNDRED YEARS OF TRADITION AND PLAY THE ROLE OF ATTACK DOG, HEAPING DERISION ON HER HUSBAND’S POLITICAL OPPONENTS LIKE NO OTHER FIRST LADY BEFORE HER….
This is not a smart move on the Obama Administration.It reminds people of her shortcomings, but also his administrations.Nothing is as it was in 2008.Hope and change is gone replaced by attack, attack, attack.
5.Obama Invests for America
Here's a great business model. START YOUR COMPANY WITH THE IDEA THAT IT'S GOING TO GO BANKRUPT. THEN, WHEN IT FOLDS, INFORM YOUR INVESTORS THAT THE BUSINESS WAS A SUCCESS BECAUSE IT DID EXACTLY WHAT YOU EXPECTED.
That's more or less what Obama has done with every "investment" government has made over that past three years. The Energy Department's failed green energy loan program is just one example. It appears that much of the $36 billion earmarked for alternative energy firms, including $500 million to Solyndra alone, has been squandered. If that money had stayed in the private sector, it would have produced jobs. As it is, with real unemployment running at 20%, the president has wasted billions on companies that were destined to fail. That "investment" produced nothing except more debt and slower economic growth.
It is not surprising, given his lack of real-world experience, that OBAMA DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE WORD "INVESTMENT." Like most in his party, Obama thinks every kind of government spending is an investment. His thinking is so twisted that HE SPEAKS OF ALL SORTS OF WELFARE, INCLUDING INCREASES IN THE EARNED INCOME CREDIT AND EXTENSION OF UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS PAST 99 WEEKS, AS AN INVESTMENT. SPENDING ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS AN INVESTMENT, BENEFITS FOR THE HOMELESS ARE AN INVESTMENT, FUNDING THAT MAKES ITS WAY TO THE COFFERS OF TEACHERS UNIONS IS AN INVESTMENT. JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING IS AN INVESTMENT, EXCEPT AN INVESTMENT
This isn’t tragic, it is scary.The left has taken the language and completely destroyed the meaning of certain words so that they can use it to advance their political cause.
6.OWS and the Duped Generation
Radicalized progressives have marched on Wall Street. They know that they are angry, and they want to change the system, BUT THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY WILL DO ONCE THEIR PROTEST REACHES BEYOND THE SIMPLICITY OF MARCHES AND SLEEPING IN TENTS. They only do this because they know they are angry, and things must change. They understand little beyond that because the programming has not gotten that far, yet….
…THIS BELIEF IN BIG GOVERNMENT SUGGESTS THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT KNOWS BEST, and should be trusted with regulatory powers over pretty much anything you can think of. Globalists and communists alike share in this belief. Well known statist Zbigniew Brzezinski once said, “I THINK WE ACCEPT THE IDEA OF A VAST EXPANSION IN SOCIAL REGULATION. IT MAY TAKE SUCH FORMS AS LEGISLATION FOR THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN, PERHAPS EVEN LEGISLATION DETERMINING THE SEX OF CHILDREN, ONCE WE HAVE CHOICE, THE REGULATION OF WEATHER, THE REGULATION OF LEISURE, AND SO FORTH.”
To achieve their vision of a new world, the old world must be destroyed. STATISM CANNOT COEXIST WITH LIBERTY, AND AN ALL-POWERFUL GOVERNMENT CANNOT COEXIST WITH RELIGION, MORALS, OR INDIVIDUALISM. The problem is that the existing population is aware of the existence of God, remembers the days of liberty, have moral fiber, and consider themselves individuals. Therefore, the existing generation is beyond reach. However, the children can be molded, taught the new way, the communal way, the way of statist utopianism…
When you hear most of the interviews of OWS people you absolutely cringe.Many of them are college students and you see how college is failing to educate these people.They don’t appear to understand reality and are hard pressed to express themselves beyond angry slogans.
7.The Law of Unintended Consequences
At 202 pounds, Steffany Sears knew she was fat, but NOT FAT ENOUGH TO QUALIFY FOR TRADITIONAL WEIGHT-LOSS SURGERY.
Desperate for help, the Gold Bar, Wash., woman did what seemed the only logical thing: She gorged herself on chips and cookies, pizza and fried chicken so she’d gain at least eight pounds more
“I would have eaten myself stupid,” recalled Sears, 34, who was turned down by her insurance company for the $20,000 procedure. “I know friends who would have done that, too.”
IN THE END, SHE ACTUALLY QUALIFIED TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLINICAL TRIAL THAT LED THE FEDERAL FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION THIS SPRING TO LOWER THE BAR FOR OBESITY IN PEOPLE ELIGIBLE FOR ONE FORM OF WEIGHT-LOSS SURGERY, Allergan’s Lap-Band stomach-shrinking device. Because she had a body mass index, or BMI, of between 30 and 35, the target range of the new rule, she even got the treatment for free, instead of having to take out a second mortgage on her house.
Today, at 5-foot-6, she weighs 143 pounds. "I felt like I'd won the lottery, really, with my life," said Sears…
As we become more and more dependent upon government, we find more and more incidents of people being caught by the law of unintended consequences.Here we have an obese woman having to gain weight.
8.Second Energy Department-backed company goes bankrupt
A MASSACHUSETTS COMPANY THAT RECEIVED A $43 MILLION ENERGY DEPARTMENT LOAN GUARANTEE LAST YEAR FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY SUNDAY, a step certain to fuel criticism of federal green energy financing in the wake of the solar company Solyndra’s collapse.
Beacon Power Corp., which develops energy storage systems, filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
The government shouldn’t be a venture capitalist (socialist??).Picking winners and losers tends to be a losing proposition when done by bureaucrats
9.The American Political Parties Are Breaking Down
The decay of American political parties continues as the real money and power in politics shifts inexorably away from party organizations to informal and ad hoc groups. The combination of citizen grassroots movements, decentralized party structures and the vast sums of money short-circuiting the official party structures is changing the way politics works. As this story in the NEW YORK TIMES DETAILS, THE REAL CONVERSATION AMONG REPUBLICAN-AFFILIATED POWER BROKERS NOW TAKES PLACE OUTSIDE PARTY STRUCTURES.
American political parties are increasingly being reduced to flags of convenience; party organizations and party institutions have little influence over events. That didn’t use to be true. Party leaders and officials once exercised significant power over the choice of nominees, over the careers of aspiring pols, and over patronage. THESE DAYS, OUTSIDE CHICAGO AND A HANDFUL OF OTHER PLACES, WE NO LONGER THINK OF PARTY “BOSSES”….
What do you think about the weakening of the party power?I was going to ask this question assuming what the article would say.It went a different way than I thought it would, but that is still a good question.What do you think?
10.Physics vs. Phys Ed: Regardless of Need, Schools Pay the Same
THERE ARE 19 GYM TEACHERS IN THE FARMINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT WHO MAKE MORE THAN $85,000 A YEAR EACH. THE AVERAGE GYM TEACHER'S SALARY IN FARMINGTON IS $75,035. BY COMPARISON, THE SCIENCE TEACHERS IN THAT DISTRICT MAKE $68,483 PER YEAR ON AVERAGE.
That’s not unusual in Michigan schools, according to Freedom of Information Act requests received from around the state.
In the Woodhaven-Brownstown district, 18.5 (FTE) science teachers average some $58,400 per year in salary, while 12 gym teachers averaged nearly $76,700. In Harrison, science teachers earned $49,000 on average while gym teachers averaged $62,000….
This is an issue in our school system with the compensation system that has been negotiated with the Teacher’s union.We have a system that pays “teachers” the same regardless of the scarcity or the surplus of skills needed to attract top notch candidates.
It seems to be a rule of nature that you will hear the Democrats revile the Republicans for the tone of the TEA Party protests. And the MSM is only too happy to pile on giving those charges plenty of publicity.
"Some protesters were clearly prepared for violence," a news account noted in 2003. "Some demonstrators fired bolts from slingshots, and others slashed the tires of squad cars. Police clearing a mob from Seventh and Mission streets early in the afternoon came away with a haul of pipe wrenches, rocks, and other makeshift weapons . . . .Protesters shut down Market Street and many surrounding intersections and streets off and on throughout the day . . . . Protesters also gathered by the hundreds at several points during the day outside the Federal Building on Golden Gate Avenue, where they blockaded entrances and kept employees from entering."
Media accounts back then were rather different, however -- frequently and sympathetically noting that the demonstrations were "largely peaceful" -- "the vast majority of demonstrators were peaceful as they denounced the U.S. war with Iraq," as a typical news story noted -- which is a more pleasant way of saying they were somewhat violent. Contrast that with Time magazine's censorious observation the other day that "ugly signs abounded" at a recent Tea Party event in Nevada. Ugly signs? You've got to be kidding.
Here is a trip down memory lane for those of you who remember that you think there were ugly signs along with those mostly peaceful anti-Bush and anti-war protests:
